Nexus: Heroes Will Rise

by tmb1112

Universal borders have been erased and beings from thousands of universes now live on the same world: Nexus. In the first Saga of Nexus, Awul was saved, but the mysteries of Nexus remain. Now our heroes sail across the sea to Aebrith to search for lost loved ones and save the world. MCs from DBZ, KH, Soul Eater, FT, Blue Exorcist, Bleach, 7DS, OP, Ben 10, SAO, HxH, and many more!

149. Nexus HWR 22-8 They Need My Help

Disclaimer: I don't own any of the media sources I got proper nouns from in this story.

Nexus HWR 22.8 They Need My Help:

The Boar's Hat Bar

"How, are you feeling?" Nami only paused for a second but continued her question in a steady voice despite Juvia's initial look towards her. Juvia's expression just appeared so much darker than Nami was used to seeing on her friend's face, and despite trying to move right past it, she still faltered on her morning greeting and cursed internally that she did.

Juvia just shrugged one shoulder in response then went back to the delicious food she was eating for breakfast. With her mouth still full, she began, "Index has no idea how long it will take. But seeing as I'm in no rush to return anywhere or head to anywhere…" Juvia trailed off and just took another bite of her breakfast. Nami rose her eyebrows in surprise, as she was expecting Juvia to be considering sneaking away from them or at least being a bit more disgruntled about seemingly being forced to be here.

I don't feel the need to get "better." But I also don't feel any desire to rush back to Gray's side or anything. I don't care about staying with any of you. I don't care about much at all really. Though, I do feel one thing pulling me. A desire getting stronger. I can't say it aloud. Juvia kept munching and hid any sign of her lust for murder growing stronger. She had an emotionless look on her face, and she stared straight ahead over her bowl of sweet porridge topped with various fruits.

I also accept Robin's logical explanation. I am stronger with friends. I don't really get how that works, but friendship does have its benefits. As much as I don't feel any need to stay here, I don't feel an intense desire to leave either. I can get stronger by staying. But, I could more easily kill if I leave. Find a Cooperative stronghold nearby. I'm already in their territory. I could help Gray- Juvia's blue eyebrows rose up. I guess I still care enough that I'm not just planning to murder the witches. Not yet, at least. Even though they're all technically Cooperative fighters too…

The Androids could probably call on the magicians here to fight alongside them in a future war. Including using the Library itself. Index's wealth of knowledge would be used by the enemies of the Resistance… She's a little girl. And? And she hasn't been used yet for evil purposes. I saw Touma stop that from happening. Killing her for no reason but to prevent a possible outcome of her being used by my enemies is out of the question. For now… If that's how I think, then isn't it dangerous for me to keep seeing her? Soon, that last shred of restraint might be gone.

Maybe that's a good thing though. Maybe, taking her out will be a benefit to everyone. I'm already not sure that it isn't. I'll have to think more on it. Taking her out would definitely put myself in more danger though. Unnecessary danger, because what does it matter to me if she's used by the Androids anyway? It would protect Gray and his allies. It would get me arrested or killed by the magicians. Sorry Gray. The choice is simple.

"The whole Women's Kingdom?" Liz Thompson asked in disbelief and anger.

"Damn them," Weiss hissed. The girl was frustrated and angry at herself hearing about the deeds of the Organization. I didn't recognize one matching Yang's description, or my own. Swixes. Weiss closed her eyes for a second and then leaned back in her chair across the table from Izumo.

Elaine floated closer to the girl who she had been hovering on the right side of. Elaine put a hand down on Izumo's shoulder and said, "There was nothing you could have done." Izumo flinched and darted her gaze up to the small face of the fairy girl who shook her head in soft way back. "You're lucky to have survived."

"Yeah, 'luck,'" Juvia scoffed from her table. The other girls looked over to the mage who was finishing the breakfast Ban made for her. Juvia wiped her mouth and stood up. "I should get going back to the Library. More treatment. Lucky me." Her monotonous voice sounded very sarcastic, but Izumo was still more focused on the first thing Juvia scoffed at her about.

"Why did you say it like that?" Izumo asked. "You think I ran? Like a coward-"

"It wasn't luck, it was Axel. Based on your description of him. He's a Nobody but also a friend of Gray and Sora's-"

"Juvia." Robin's voice was harsh when she interrupted the younger woman. Juvia rolled her eyes though and then shifted her annoyed look back at Robin who frowned at her for that look. "I did not know you recognized his description during Izumo's story. You did not refer to him when she first told us, because you understood it would put him in danger-"

"What do I care if some Nobody gets killed?" Juvia countered curiously. Her eyebrows rose at Robin as if she was seriously asking Robin to give her a reason. Izumo stared at the group she had been traveling with in shock that they actually knew the Nobody who saved her.

"Juvia," Nami started.

"Seriously," Juvia repeated, looking towards Nami and then nodding back at Izumo herself. "That guy helped wipe out an entire kingdom. I'm supposed to think he's some great guy because he saved one person? Whoop-dee-doo."

"You actually have a friend who's a Nobody?" Weiss asked.

Nami frowned at the question and darted her eyes around the room at all these people who they did not know that well. Nami stared at Gowther for a second then over at King and the giant girl, (who was still in a shrunken state), Diane. "So what? Not all of them are so bad. Though, I'd like you to keep knowledge of that on the down low, if you don't mind?" Nami requested of the others in the room. "And that includes you, Juvia." The Rain Woman opened her mouth, but Nami spoke quicker and harsher, "Because if they were to get hurt, Sora and Gray would get hurt. And it would be your fault for outing them."

Weiss' eyes widened as she finally caught on to why what Juvia said was actually pretty dangerous. The guy wasn't supposed to be saving anyone from that kingdom. Letting Izumo go, he risks his position in their Organization. If he's one of Gray's friends, that means he's probably a Resistance member. A Resistance Nobody? "Was this guy… or were these guys," Weiss corrected herself, as she had noticed that Nami used the plural form in her last explanation. "In the Dread Fort when we were all there?"

Nami hesitated but then nodded back at Weiss. "And they helped us out a lot in there-"

"Are you talking about Axel?!" A boy called out as he ran into the room. Liz had left when she realized, and she rushed straight to find Soul where he and Maka were in the middle of what had appeared like a very serious conversation. The two had cut themselves off when Liz opened their door, but Soul was fast to sprint off when Liz mentioned what the others were talking about.

Nami got a tick mark on her forehead that even more people were finding out about this secret they were supposed to keep. She glared at Juvia again and did not receive as blank a look back this time, as Juvia actually considered the reasoning Nami gave about how it would hurt Gray. That one thing still somewhat got to her and made her regret starting this conversation anyway. She stopped completely though and turned her head in shock like the rest of her friends as Soul explained, "We were captured together. Delta Squad…"

Soul trailed off. He stared towards Juvia and down her blue shirt to the skirt she was wearing. The skirt was split on the left leg which revealed the tattoo on her left thigh that Soul stared at and recognized. He thought of a guy who could never keep his shirt on, always taking it off and revealing the same tattoo that he had on his chest. Fairy Tail?

"Delta, Squad?" Juvia wondered as the boy rose his gaze back up to meet hers.

"You're Juvia," Soul began. He had only met Nami and Izumo the night before. Timmy had come back with Robin and Juvia much later from the Library as Index's first three attempts had gone late into the night, with no success. Soul had heard that Nami and Izumo had other friends in the city who would be spending the night at the Boar's Hat too, but he and Maka had turned in after the stressful day before they arrived.

"Gray, talked about me?" Juvia asked hesitantly. "What did he say?"

Soul spun towards Meliodas who nodded back at the teen. The Sins had already told Soul about bumping into Gray recently, but no one mentioned it the night before that Nami also knew who Gray was. He saw looks of recognition on all their faces except for Izumo who just frowned as the conversation was confusing her. "Wait, you were captured with him?" Izumo asked the boy. "But was this Axel guy captured when you met him?" Izumo wondered at Nami and then over to Robin, as Timmy nor Juvia seemed to know the answer to that question.

"He was… at first. But they, merged him with Lea," Nami explained. She paused in mid-explanation as it all sounded a bit ridiculous to her. Weiss' eyes grew wider though as she met Nami's gaze. "A lot of us have Nobodies," Nami said. She saw a look in Weiss' eyes that she recognized and made her remember how Sanji had told her about a 'Swixes-tan' who Weiss questioned him about back at the Dread Fort. "And they want to merge with us, their Somebodies, so that they can get their hearts. Our hearts- They want to take them. Or… at least most of them seem to want that."

"But even after Axel merged with Lea, he fought by his friends instead of with the Organization," Robin finished for her more confused-sounding comrade. "Axel may be with them currently, but he is still a friend. He had to go back to them to protect people close to him." Robin kept other names out of it, but Soul knew who she was talking about.

"Roxas!" Axel's friend was in the Organization. He's the one who attacked us! Helped get us enslaved! You went back, for him?! Soul bit down in anger. Despite their explanations, he was still angry at Axel for lying to them for all that time. "And Gray?" Soul asked in a dark voice. He was upset enough at Axel, but he wondered in a pissed-off voice that had Maka looking sadly at the side of his face from the left side of the boy she just caught up to. "Where's he now? Run off again?"

"That's-" Timmy began. He froze as Soul glared at him in a betrayed and angered way that made Timmy feel very guilty. "That was my fault. I teleported Gray over to us, to Juvia. We needed help in a hard battle we were fighting, and she thought of him as the person who could save her." Juvia looked over towards Timmy for a moment and then back at Gray's comrade who was staring at Timmy in disbelief. Soul's expression twisted between anger, shock, and confusion. He brought a hand up to the side of his head and gripped it tightly as Timmy continued, "Ansem and the Heartless were winning. Robin fell in that fight, creating her Nobody," Timmy added.

"Ansem? He's the one who was inside of Riku!" Elaine exclaimed in surprise. She had tried to drag that monster out of Riku when she met them, and she was stunned to hear that he had attacked his own friends in the past. Timmy nodded back at Elaine and said, "Ansem had control over Riku's body for two years before we managed to defeat him and get Riku back in control. Most of the Nobodies who Izumo talked about in that story… They were of Ansem's creation."

"They were, were they?" Izumo asked. Her tone got darker and angrier still. When it was just Bronxi she was already frustrated at these people, but they were not actually at fault for Bronxi's creation. Izumo could picture Riku though. She remembered meeting him in Amazonia. Cassie thought he was so important, but he got taken over and created a whole army of Nobodies?!

"Not Riku. Ansem," Nami repeated to Izumo what Timmy had said. She stared into the younger girl's eyes when Izumo frowned towards her, but the girl eased up her expression after a second when Nami's harsh look scolded her for thinking otherwise. He feels guilty enough for all he's done without having you put the actions of those Nobodies on him too, Nami thought. I hope he doesn't hear about it and feel that he's responsible. Riku…

"All I'm saying," Timmy started again while refacing Soul. "Is that it wasn't Gray's fault he disappeared that day. I brought him-"

"But could you have sent him back?" Soul asked. He interrupted the kid and Timmy did not respond right away. "Did he even ask to be sent back here? We were in the middle of a fight!"

"He didn't know at first that I was the one who brought him! I didn't, really explain it," Timmy continued.

"Plus, Master Makarov had just been killed by the Underworld," Juvia added. Soul glared over at her but shifted his look a bit as she said, "He was like a father to Gray. We were going after the ones who killed him. We went to war too. And then when our war was won, Gray convinced us all to come over here to fight in your war."

"He convinced Goku to come back with us," Nami added. She lifted up a small smile at the boy in a beanie who sounded so angry at Gray for abandoning them. "That has to count for something. Goku's at Resistance Headquarters right now. Gray did that. He brought Natsu and Luffy too. Taking out Sozin and Saix. Goku beat Doflamingo."

"Kirito killed Ra's al Ghul," Juvia mentioned. Why did I say that? A few of her friends smiled at her for bringing him up, showing she cared that they had not yet mentioned the one who had avenged her and brought her back to life. "Just saying," she muttered in a lower voice. "Gray's a hero of your Resistance."

"Even right now," Robin said in a soft voice to the boy who appeared ever more conflicted with each nice thing said about Gray.

Soul wanted to hate Gray for abandoning them, apparently when he had the ability to be teleported back to them too. If my old man was killed- or, if say Maka was? I wouldn't have come back without first getting revenge. But, it took too long! He should have… Soul's thoughts trailed away and his eyes just widened even more as Robin continued in a way that surprised all the Sins as well.

"…Gray leads an army of the Resistance. He has been ordered to take back the western coast. He was promoted to General and is leading an army against the Sith as we speak." Robin finished and then looked around to see the Sins, Soul, Maka, and Liz, were all surprised to hear that.

Meliodas turned towards Ban and hummed while Ban met the Captain's gaze. Ban shrugged his shoulders and then shook his head. Does he have a shot? No clue. Ban put his hands behind his head and leaned back at the bar on his stool. He stared up at the ceiling and did not smile though as much as he wanted to.

Meliodas felt the same way and did not just grin at the sound of Gray going to take on the Sith. "The Emperor, is pretty strong," Meliodas started. "And you said that Son Goku is back at HQ, not with Gray?" He added, as that would make a difference in his predictions.

"We think so…" Nami replied. "But Gray's got this."

"He'll win," Timmy said in a more confident tone. "I believe in him."

Soul was still stunned to hear about Gray's current offensive. He felt a hand on his shoulder and looked to Maka who squeezed it and gave him a reassuring smile. "He's a Fairy Tail member. We shouldn't have ever doubted him." Maka said that and then looked towards Juvia too and gave the girl a similarly trusting look despite Juvia's bad attitude.

"You know Gajeel too?" Juvia asked. "And Levy?" She tacked on, though she was thinking more about her former Phantom Lord comrade who turned Fairy Tail mage with her.

"Sure, I met them before," Maka replied. She shook her head though and then looked to her feet. "But, I'm talking more about…" she continued. Her smile lowered down a bit as she imagined the one she was actually thinking of. It was Soul's turn to give her a reassuring touch on the arm, while Liz uncomfortably looked away behind them, as she had been there for what Maka was thinking about. "Lily."

"Lily?" Juvia repeated in a soft voice of her own. She had turned back towards the door of the bar as she wanted to get going already, but she stopped again when she heard mention of the Exceed's name. Does that mean… Juvia slowly turned her head while another face appeared in her mind. It was a young boy's face that she had last seen two and a half years ago, but she had heard a story about him only a few months back.

As Juvia looked back, Maka continued to the blunette, "I actually saw him a few days ago, but we were going south and he wasn't." Maka's voice sounded sad and her eyes looked it as she remembered their conversation. Soul and Liz both looked to be pitying the girl for whatever she was thinking about, but neither said anything about it even as Maka's eyes clenched shut. King frowned over from the bar and wanted to say something, but he held his tongue this time instead of making things worse.

"Was…" Juvia stopped. What do I care? I do though. I do enough, that I should ask. So I can tell Gray and the others. Maka had lifted her gaze back up to meet Juvia's. The Fairy Tail mage wondered in a flat voice not expecting much, "Was a young boy with him? A kid named-"

"Romeo," Maka finished. Juvia's eyes widened.

Nami looked in confusion over at Juvia after seeing her reaction. "Who is that?" Nami asked.

"He was there?" Juvia asked, a glimmer of hope in her eyes that was more than her friends remembered seeing for anything involving Index and finding a cure for herself. Maka's face fell though. Her expression dropped, and Juvia's returned flat at the sight of it. "Oh," Juvia muttered. Her disappointment did not last, and she just shook her head and turned back around again.

"They talked about him a lot. We were searching all over for…" Maka trailed off. Juvia stared towards the door but did listen rather than walking away. "Lily and, Mine. They had us check every slave registry we could find. We searched the whole continent for him… But, we couldn't find him anywhere."

"He's a slave?" Nami asked, bringing a hand up to cover her mouth with. She saw Juvia was not surprised by it, or at least her friend was not reacting to hearing it at all.

"Macao Conbolt's son," Robin informed the younger woman on her side. Nami spun in surprise to hear that Robin knew, and her eyes opened even wider as she thought about a Fairy Tail mage who she had drank under the table on various late-night parties with Fairy Tail. The old drunkards of the magic guild could never keep up with the pirate navigator. Nami suddenly remembered certain looks she had seen on that old man's face before, but she never asked him what they were for.

"The day Wendy got consumed by darkness," Juvia started. She glanced back at her confused comrades. She spoke in monotone and unnerved them again by the uncaring way she looked as she talked. "Apparently she saw Romeo and Lily, and that Mine girl you mentioned," Juvia added as she recalled Wendy's story and a name that Maka brought up. "They got grabbed by Chimera Ants over on Awul and dragged off. Gray suspected they were enslaved. We were, also going to try and find him while we're here." Juvia said that like the idea of finding him was now no longer a possibility she was considering.

Maka's eyes squinted shut and her head bowed again. "I'm sorry. I really- we really tried. Mine and Lily were sold separately from Romeo though. The trails all ran cold… though, Lily's still searching. He hasn't given up." A couple tears pushed out of Maka's squinted-closed eyes. "Even if he's the only one left."

---

Four Days Ago…

Shinkoku

In a free town in Android territory, the only such holdout against Android 17's power, the Boar's Hat bar had dropped anchor for the night. It was open for all the townsfolk and the people in the surrounding countryside that was free of monsters and thus full of people. Android 17's environmental laws were a bit too extensive to the point that some people were scared to kill any monsters in fear that the androids would consider that screwing with the natural environment. Asura and Yasha did not have that problem.

The protector and mayor of the small nation, (declared mayor by his friend, family, and the people around him against his own wishes), was in the bar too. Asura just sat near the door with a scowl on his face that terrified most people who looked at him. Yasha was hovering a thousand feet above the bar, a blindfold over his eyes but his vision cast all over their domain to keep careful watch over the people they protected. He glanced down from behind the blindfold at the top of the bar and thought of his sister and niece inside who his brother-in-law was watching over. Yasha's stern expression shifted to gain a small smile for a moment, before he refocused on his guardian efforts.

Asura stared at the back of his daughter in a furious way that most of his people could see past by now to see him admiring their priestess and his own blood. Mithra was patting her mother on the back as Durga downed another glass of red wine while chatting up the short blond-haired bartender and owner of the bar. Mithra's eyes widened as Durga reached a hand over the bar and flirtatiously brushed it over one of Meliodas' hands. Mithra smiled nervously and glanced over her shoulder towards her father whose teeth bared harder while he glared past and to the barkeep who chuckled but got back to wiping down glasses and then pouring another few drinks for other customers at the bar. Asura saw his daughter looking back in a way hoping he would not overreact, and he also spotted his wife pretending not to look his way as she tried to make him jealous so that he would come up and start drinking with her rather than scowling by himself in the corner.

"Haha, oh boy Cappy," Ban leaned over Meliodas' back with a red shade covering his face. "Looks like you've incurred Asura's wrath! Better be careful! Urp-erp!" Ban burp-hiccuped and then stumbled back around the counter and patted a hand on a King's back in too hard of a way that the elf in mid-chug choked on it and spurted some beer out his nostrils.

Diane spun from the table she was serving in her waitress uniform and scolded Ban before asking King if he was alright, while Weiss just rolled her eyes and skirted past them with a tray covered in drinks on one hand. She slid around the floor and masterfully maneuvered around stumbling drunks to reach the table of 7 where she put the glasses down and picked up 7 empty ones. She sighed while sliding back on her Glyphs for the kitchen. When did I get so used to this? Weiss thought, as the movements around drunk customers had become second nature to her.

King waved off Diane and was even more red in the face now as he was embarrassed to have snorted out beer in front of her in such a way. Ban laughed his head off as King flew away and around a corner, to a bathroom… only to hear something coming from out the back door that surprised him to hear. He wiped his face quickly and then floated out the bathroom and out the back door onto the hillside of Mama Hawk's back.

"What do you mean you aren't coming? I finally found you. I found someone," Panther Lily clenched both fists at his sides. His steel right hand and his flesh and bone left both curled angrily in a way that made Soul step forward past Maka's side. Lily glared his way, and Maka swung an arm up to block Soul and keep him out of this.

"Lily," she started. The girl had a hesitant look on her face and pulled it back after seeing a desperate expression flash over the Exceed's for a moment. She looked back down and then to the side at Soul again. We can't go back there. We can't stay up here! "It just- I can't."

"I'm starting right back up where Tatsumi left off. I don't have any comrades yet though," Lily countered her frustratedly. "Are you really okay with just saving him?" Lily found himself getting even angrier after seeing the way that Maka looked at Soul before repeating her answer. "Is that all you were with us for? Is your mission over now because of that?" Lily got angrier and angrier as Maka was not denying it.

"Hold on a second," Liz put her hands up defensively and tried stepping up on Maka's other side. She looked back and forth from this tall cat cyborg to her close friend and back again. She pointed a palm at each of them and said, "Let's just calm down for a second, okay? This is a good thing! Neither of you knew that the other was alive, right? This is cause for celebration!" The older teenage girl than her two friends tried to put a positive spin on it, and she looked to the cat guy to see if he agreed with that.

"What… happened?" Maka whispered. "I know we were the only ones who got out," she continued on. The fact that more wanted posters had not been going around told her the truth. She knew the result of the attempted escape of the Colosseum's prisoners. "I didn't know anyone survived. How many-"

"Myself and Mine were the only two to make it out alive." Lily's words were like a dagger to Maka's heart. She winced and her whole body tensed up. Her eyes closed and tears pushed out the corners of them and spilled down her face. "But Mine, after seeing how Tatsumi…" Lily imagined Tatsumi's horrifying death and flinched. He glared away that he would react like that, and he cursed under his breath but then shook his head in more frustration and spun back Maka's way. "You can't just give up though. You got Soul and even freed others too. I don't know how you managed it, but I need your help if we're to keep fighting slavery! You cannot just let this be the end of it."

Maka's eyes clenched shut harder. Everything I endured. Everything Soul went through. There are others going through the same things right now, Maka reminded herself. That painful truth hurt so much more because she already knew her answer. "The way we tried it failed," Maka whispered. She opened her teary eyes back up and lifted her gaze to meet the Exceed's again. "The Resistance is the only real force that can still stand against the Ant King. Maybe, if we could get strong support here or in the Magic Kingdom, we could change the tides of the war. Maybe we could push for that support as we move south? It's worth a short, and it's a better use of our time than going around freeing slaves one by one."

Lily started shaking his head with his anger rising back to the surface. Maka spoke quicker, "As many as we save! As many as Tatsumi saved, he was fighting on the front lines and saving individuals. How many did we save and send to the Saiyan Mountains for protection?" Maka gasped out, raising her own voice but then flinching just like Lily as they thought in horror of all those who had been rescued only to likely be recaptured in the War of the Saiyan Mountains. "It's the system itself, Lily. The system is what needs to change, and that can't happen without the Resistance's influence over the continent. We need to join them and help them-"

"They never do enough. They aren't focused on slavery like we were!" Lily snapped back. "If not for us, so many would still be enslaved who the Resistance didn't have time for. Is that what you're willing to accept?!"

"Hey! She told you why it's better to go to the Resistance," Soul started growling back. "Just accept it and come with us. We do focus on freeing slaves in the Resistance too you know?"

"They didn't rescue you," Lily growled at him. Soul flinched, a look of pain flashing over his face. Lily did not care though as Liz gave him a harsh look for saying something like that. "We did. Maka did. It was your plan," Lily said. He seethed it in so much frustration as he looked back into Maka's eyes. "You led us into that. It was your plan to go to the Capital! Your plan that got everyone- that got Tatsumi! All of them…"

Lily did not finish the sentence he was speeding up in saying, but it had already crushed Maka to hear. Soul's jaw dropped even that this guy had said such a thing. He wanted Maka's comrade to come with them up until this very second, as a hateful expression spread on his face instead. Liz also opened her mouth to yell angrily at Lily for saying that, but someone else beat her to the punch. "HEY! You don't get to say that to her!" A small fairy flew forward and made Lily turn his gruff expression back and glare furiously in a way that had King skidding in midair to a stop.

Lily's right eye glowed red in the middle of the metal plate that covered that half of his face. The scarred-up cyborg of an Exceed who had sustained those life-changing injuries at the hands of his slavers just bared his teeth at this stranger for getting involved. He stopped baring as hard when he recognized the figure from the same wanted posters that told him that Maka was alive. King still had a red tint to his cheeks, but he looked angry enough through the tipsy expression as he pointed at the cat's face in front of him. "You're mad at her? Are you a man or what? You sent a fifteen year old girl to be a slave! You let her infiltrate on her own to be tortured?! Painfully tortured!"

"King!" Maka yelled. King froze and spun in surprise to Maka for sounding so angry with him. She yelled it with her eyes clenched shut and her head bowed. "Just stop, King," Maka hissed.

"He's right though," Soul agreed with their friend he was glad jumped in while he was still too stunned to speak. Soul glared at Lily while putting an arm around Maka's shoulders and pulling her into his side in a comforting way. Lily had leaned back from what King yelled at him, and now he turned back to Maka with a guilty expression that did not make any of the fury on Soul or Liz's faces go away. "She went through more than any of you, and she did her part."

"Soul," Maka whispered at him to stop. "It was my plan, and I volunteered to infiltrate. I wouldn't let anyone stop me."

Lily closed his own eyes though despite Maka's counter. The Exceed shook where he stood. As guilty as Maka's expression was, far more regret covered Lily's in the next second. We let Maka go through all of that, and then we failed in our mission anyway. We were so close! We had hundreds of them. If only we had teleported away sooner. If only, the Ant King wasn't so fast. What could we have done differently? Lily bit down in pain at the thought of the Ant King standing there, holding the hearts of all his comrades.

"I'm sorry, Lily," Maka whispered hoarsely. Her eyes opened again and she looked into the cat man's that were as crushed as hers were. "But I won't join you. By the time we plan a mission and save one, ten, or even a hundred more slaves," Maka paused and shook her head. "Thousands more will have been enslaved in that same time period. Like using a leaky cup to bail out a sinking lifeboat. It's never going to stop. I'm sorry. I can see now that what we were doing was always going to fail. I think, I might have always known." Maka smiled painfully in an expression covered in guilt, and she confessed, "I really only joined you to save Soul. You're right. It was selfish, but now I'm going back to the Resistance."

"And you should come too." Maka finished but did not sound hopeful.

Lily turned away from her. He shrank in size and turned into a tiny cat with white wings. His gruff appearance suddenly turned small and cute, and King blinked his eyes a few times then rubbed them with his fists as he wondered what he just saw. Lily flapped his wings and looked like he was just going to fly away. "And Mine? Are you still…" Maka started, causing Lily to stop where he was for a second.

Lily lowered his gaze. "She's alive. I don't know where she went though. We separated when it was clear she would not be continuing the fight either." Lily closed his eyes and took in a deep breath. "But I will not give up." His eyes opened and focused back to the northwest. "A few others survived who I don't think you knew. They were the ones who did not infiltrate the Capital with us, but without Tatsumi they scattered. I am alone."

"And I will not retreat back to the safety of the Resistance." Lily flapped his wings and shot off in a blur away from the Boar's Hat. Maka rose a hand after him and opened her mouth, but no words escaped her lips. She had nothing she could say to him.

---

Present

"…We saw him in Shinkoku," Maka told Lily's Fairy Tail comrade. Robin's eyebrows rose in interest at the name of a town she had told her own comrades about when she got information about Android 17's realm. "But he was heading back into the deepest of Cooperative territories. All by himself."

Soul was still pissed at the guy for what he had said to Maka. He squeezed her shoulder though in a comforting way because he knew how worried she was about her old comrade's safety. He frowned at Juvia though, as did Maka, because the blue-haired girl just shrugged upon hearing that. "Okay," Juvia said. "Timmy," Juvia motioned towards the door, and Timmy blinked a few times but then hopped up and started for the exit.

"We should get going," Nami agreed. She made it out like they would all go together, annoying Juvia who wanted to hurry up already and not get stuck here any longer. "You'll still be here tonight, right?" Nami asked.

"Hmm," Meliodas tilted his head back and forth. He glanced over at Maka and friends, then towards Nami again, then around at the messy bar not fully cleaned up from the busy night before. A grin crossed the barkeep's face. "I think I could make a good profit from staying another night. But we'll be leaving tomorrow morning," Meliodas added with a look towards the Resistance members who had mentioned their desire to get back. The three of them could not complain after being saved and escorted by these people across all of Aebrith, so they just held their tongues and nodded in agreement to wait another day before they continued south.

Juvia nodded impatiently but accepted that Nami's question was actually pertinent. Now that that was out of the way though, she glared around at each of her comrades taking too long for something that they were supposedly more invested in anyway. "So are we just skipping today? Giving up now-"

"We're coming," Izumo said. "Just keep a lid on-" she stopped. An anxious look covered her face at the look Juvia shot her for taking that tone. Izumo shivered and held back until Timmy walked past her. "Sorry," Izumo glanced away. I'm not her friend. I can't just talk to her like the others do.

"What's up her butt?" Soul muttered in annoyance.

Meliodas watched as the group of five headed out of his bar. He knew they would be back later, but as he turned to the glasses he was polishing, he started talking in a loud voice to reach them anyway. "It's crazy that Gray's invading the Sith right now. That's the second major Resistance op outside of Resistance territory that we know of going on right now."

Timmy turned around after the girls were almost all out of the bar, though Izumo was next to him still and glanced back herself. Soul, Maka, and Liz had already heard about this and wondered why Meliodas was bringing it up all of a sudden. "What's the other one?" Timmy asked back to the bartender who looked interestedly over towards that short boy again.

"In the southwest of here. At the border of Alvarez and disputed territory of the former Fire Nation," Meliodas informed the boy whose breath hitched. Izumo looked confusedly to her side at him. Timmy's heart raced faster. Meliodas told the kid, "The Resistance came pretty far north to fight against the armies of Homunculus."

"Also known as Father," Weiss added, watching Timmy's expression carefully herself after noticing that the Captain had brought this up for a reason.

"Father," Timmy repeated in a whisper.

"Apparently it's a hard-fought campaign going on right now," Meliodas added, going back to polishing his glasses. "I wonder how they're doing compared to Gray? It's impressive really. This war's a lot farther from Resistance territory, I'll give them that much."

"Timmy! Let's go!"

"What's keeping you?" Nami asked from behind the kid in the doorway who spun and then looked past to a pissed-off Juvia glaring back at the edge of the hill.

"Nothing. Let's go," Timmy said. He lifted all five of them off the ground and flew them away. He flew off towards Hogwarts, but he was too engrossed in his own thoughts that he forgot to close the door to the bar behind him.

Weiss sighed but got up and walked over to the door to shut it herself. "Captain? Why'd you suddenly bring that up?" Weiss asked. She turned back to the shorter man and rose an eyebrow at him for that strange interaction.

Meliodas just chuckled though and shook his head. "Don't worry about it."

Weiss humphed and glared harder at him for acting that way. "Fine. Captain. I challenge you!"

"Ugghh," half the bar groaned in unison as Weiss made her daily, (or at least first time for the day), challenge.

The Sins and their passengers may have moved past what Meliodas just brought up, but his words echoed around in Timmy's head rent-free. Nami spoke optimistically about how Index would have a better spell ready today now that she's been given time to think about it. Robin also tried to add some encouragement, though Juvia did not appear to be reacting much to it, and Izumo was staying quiet herself. Timmy's thoughts were far from their conversation though.

They asked for my help, the twelve-year-old boy thought. "Our forces north of Pyraxas are facing serious pushback in their attempts to cash in on the instability of the Fire Nation. They have prevented Father from making any headway into old Fire Nation territory, but they have been unable to gain any ground on him either…" Timmy furled his lip and wrinkled his brow as anxiety stirred in his heart. "…The armies of the Homunculi are keeping our Elite Squads tied up, preventing them from fighting the former Lords of Sozin who have allied together and built up strength since Sozin's death."

Their situation is so tense. The Resistance doesn't have the forces to make many attacks at once. It's opening up a new front with Gray, but I saw how Hiroomi and the others on their eastern front were acting. The whole Resistance is needed to keep their own borders secure while these attacks take place. I knew that! "If Father was taken out of the picture then, you would be able to redeploy forces around the unstable areas of the former Fire Lord? Which could keep a new High Lord from emerging and consolidating control over the other Lords?" I told them I knew. I told them I understood!

Timmy remembered how hopeful the Resistance leaders looked as Commander Hiei told him, "Timmy Turner, your friends assured Commander Uchiha that you would be willing to assist us if we helped them rescue you from the Wizard King. We would like to humbly request that assistance now." The Resistance helped free me from Cartman. I threatened to destroy them while I was under his control! But they helped save me, and they asked for my help.

Timmy rose his gaze and looked at Nami's back. His eyes widened though as she was already looking back towards him while Juvia made a snarky comment about something Robin said. Nami's worried gaze met Timmy's wide eyes that only stayed that way for a second before focusing more in determination. Nami gulped at the sight of that kind of look on Timmy's face. She spun back forward herself and tried to bring his focus back to Juvia who she called out to, "You'll see! That Index will clear your head up before you know it. Where's your optimism?"

"Probably with the rest of my emotions. Dead on some field in south Aebrith," Juvia replied.

Everyone shut up. That comment spoken in a flat and serious tone did not sound like a joke. The sound of the wind passing them got a bit louder as Timmy sped up, because what she said actually got him focused back on their current purpose again. Even refocused on the task at hand though, his eyes shifted and stared off past Juvia's back. The Sins' hill was in the east of Valyria, so they were heading west to get back to Hogwarts. Timmy stared past the island that was their destination though and into the horizon beyond Valyria and the Magic Kingdom's borders. If Index needs more time…

---

"This book came from the Dungeon?" Nico Robin wondered to the blonde woman who stood next to her chair.

Robin sat at a table in the Inner Sanctum of Hogwarts with a pile of books on her table. Nami was leaning back in her chair diagonally across the table with a bored look on her face. Both of the navigator's arms were stretched out on the chairs next to her while her head tilted back so she was staring up at the ceiling. Izumo was aimlessly walking back and forth in the aisles, while Timmy was sitting across the table from Nami and tapping his fingers on the table in front of him in growing impatience.

"Not the Dungeon," Glynda corrected the darker-haired woman. "That is a different matter entirely. There are many dungeons all over this world. Each contain powerful relics and other items from the worlds of the cosmos brought to this one. Why they were brought here and hidden in dungeons, only the Gods could tell us."

"Very interesting," Robin remarked. "And what do these dungeons look like?"

Glynda sighed. She had come to check on these people and did not actually have a class to go to at the moment though, so she did not mind conversing over this. "Some of them rise out of the ground like towers that touch the sky. Others appear to be ancient fortresses built long before we all appeared on this world. Others are more hidden. Ruins at the back of a cave with a tiny entrance in the bottom of a valley, or no clear entrance at all but one that has to be discovered. Leading to underground dungeons full of treasures."

Nami sat up and spun towards them. Glynda got confused over her sudden attention, though she frowned after thinking about the nickname given to this woman on her wanted poster. Cat Burglar. Of course she wants the treasure. "Hmph, the dungeons are sources of a wealth of information. I have researched and excavated on two separate digs."

"Robin's actually an archaeologist herself," Nami mentioned. Glynda looked in surprise to the face of the woman who was not so much younger than her that she actually felt the closest connection to her. Hearing that she was a scholar too though, (which Glynda had already started to suspect), the professor gained even more respect for the woman.

"Apologies then. I thought I was speaking to an amateur," Glynda corrected herself. Robin smiled and nodded at Glynda to continue her description which the older woman did. "The writing we've found on the walls inside these dungeons could only be read by certain holy or supernatural individuals I know of. The most powerful among them too. Not just any demigod has the ability to read those texts. However, the ones who can often give translations and allow for them to be written down. Information is power, after all. Their Gods may have abandoned us, but we are lucky that there are some who are willing to help us find answers on this insane world."

"Oooh," Nami stretched out the word and then leaned back in her chair after making the remark. Who cares about any of that? Who has the time to find out the secrets of this world? We're all a bit busy just surviving. And finding our friends, or helping them, Nami thought of Zoro first and then looked towards the powerful doorway keeping Juvia inside the next room.

"The artifacts taken from dungeons are all of immense power," Glynda continued without more than a scoff at Nami's dismissive tone. She focused only on Robin and gave examples, "Medallions that can control people or locate their weaknesses. Cloaks of invisibility or flight. Mystical objects granting powers of Kings. Weapons of unimaginable strength that people would kill each other to obtain. Such as the Ring of Power."

Robin nodded her head while Nami just felt more uneasy and looked away. Neither of the Straw Hats thought of Saruman and his attempt to steal one of those objects though. They both thought of a certain story an ice mage had told them just over a week ago. They were traveling across the Southern Wastes, and Gray had told them a story about Zoro that referenced a dungeon like the one Glynda was describing.

Robin scratched her chin and imagined the finer points of Gray's story that she had not considered before. All of them were much too focused on Zoro and the terrible loss of his childhood friend at the time Gray described it. Horror's Hand. The Tablet of Ahkmenrah. And the Staff of Horus too. The weapon Vandal Savage was after.

"Do these dungeons often tend to have guardians protecting the artifacts?" Robin wondered.

Glynda's eyes widened behind her glasses. "Perhaps you know more than you let on," she remarked and watched Robin's expression to see how the woman would react. Glynda nodded her head after a moment and just replied to the curious pirate, "I have heard of dungeon guardians from others on my archaeological teams. I have not encountered one myself, but others swear that they exist. Others who are knowledgeable in the field believe it to be true. Still, when it comes to 'the' Dungeon, I don't believe you can call the monsters inside it 'guardians' per-se."

"'The' Dungeon is not like the others?" Robin questioned.

"No. It is the most well-known but also perhaps the most mysterious," Glynda replied. "Located closely to the Tower of Babel, many seek it out to learn its secrets or fight the monsters within. It is said that the Dungeon goes deep into the planet. Deeper than any other. Miles below the surface where no magic or technology can reach due to the planet's hardness at that level. And," Glynda continued. She glanced at the closest wall and a clock on it, deciding she should get going already. She finished first though, "No one knows for sure what is at the bottom, as no one has reached deep enough to tell the tale."

"No one? On Nexus?" Nami repeated. It sounded incredulous to her considering how powerful some of the people on this world were.

"Very strong people and creatures with both good and bad intentions have attempted to reach the bottom. Most do not return," Glynda said. It almost sounded like she was trying to scare Nami off, but the pirates could tell that Glynda was actually just telling them the truth. Even Timmy wondered for a moment if he would be able to reach if everyone else had failed, though he was only distracted for a second before getting back to impatiently tapping his fingers.

Glynda turned away from them. "The ones who do return have admitted that they never made it all the way to the bottom. No one has." She left it at that and then started walking away, striding right by Izumo who had finally picked out a book that she was not that interested in but was at least something to do.

Izumo moved aside to let Glynda by, then she walked over and sat across from Robin at the table again. "What's that?" Nami asked. Izumo just held it up so Nami could read the cover. "'History of Alvarez?' Are you interested- oh." Nami stopped her question short.

Izumo's expression showed exactly how little interest she actually had in the matter, unlike Robin who was genuinely into all of this research. Izumo just slumped her shoulders and slouched into a reading position, opening her book and starting to read only to open her eyes wide at the first sentences of the 'Prologue.' Alvarez was a great country on their own world too? Led by Spriggan and his Spriggan 12. I guess it kind of makes sense. Anyone who managed to create their own countries so quickly on Nexus must have had some experience in managing them. Especially countries that got as big as Alvarez is…

"We can't just keep sitting around here," Timmy snapped. He slammed his palms on the table and made Izumo jump a bit as she just got into the book she was reading.

Robin calmly put her ancient tome down though and turned to their youngest group member. "I know it must be frustrating, but this is all we can do right now. Juvia needs us here."

"No, Robin. She doesn't," Timmy countered the woman. She might have been older and wiser than him, but Timmy disagreed in a tone telling her that this was more than just a little frustration. Timmy shook his head at the woman who opened her mouth but hesitated before reminding him why they were there. She knew he did not need that reminder, but she glanced to Nami and wondered what her friend was going to do about this.

"Timmy," Nami began. "I know you want to help, but the best we can do for Juvia is to be near her-"

"But that's just it," Timmy interrupted her. "If it was any other ailment! Any other," he repeated. "I could see how our being here would help her. Maybe not much, but it could give her some- I don't know. Some encouragement." Timmy frowned deeper and Izumo tilted her side in admission of what Timmy was already getting at. "She doesn't care though. The Juvia in that room right now isn't emotional. She isn't desperate for us to stay by her side. She doesn't even really care about us right now. Fairy Tail, and specifically Gray, are the only ones she's still holding some lingering feelings for."

Nami opened her mouth but Timmy cut her off before she could argue, "I've been in that head of hers, Nami. I know. Our being here isn't helping her. It's helping no one." Timmy stated that in more frustration than ever. His fists balled over the table as he thought about how useless he was being.

"We promised we would get Juvia help," Nami started again.

"And we have," Timmy replied simply. "But now we're just sitting around. We don't know how long her treatment is going to last. But it could take weeks- it could take the whole month! I can't just sit here that whole time while people are out there fighting right now." Timmy swung his arm out but then hushed his voice when Robin rose an index finger to her lips. He furled his own lips in frustration then hissed in a lower voice but still loud whisper, "Father is fighting the Resistance right now."

"Timmy," Nami warned. Her tone rose and she was trying to shut the boy down before he got too into this idea.

"Nami," he whisper-exclaimed back at her. "They told me about that war. You said we had another mission and pulled me away for this, but we did it! We got Juvia somewhere where she's going to be saved. Now, I am needed on the front," Timmy declared. Izumo stared diagonally over the table at the twelve year old in astonishment as he said that in a firm and fearless voice.

"You don't know that though," Nami whispered back at him. She argued, "You don't know that Juvia's going to be saved." Timmy had opened his mouth to respond quickly in a counter about how Nami had heard Resistance command's plea for help from him. He froze with his mouth open though as Nami countered, "Just because this place is looking good, doesn't mean that Juvia is certainly going to be alright. We have to be here just in case. To find a new way. Another magician. Or- or find medicine, or something."

"Index believes she can do this," Timmy replied. Then his voice got softer and his eyes lowered for a second from his guardian sitting across the table from him. "And I have to tell you, if she can't do it… No one can. She is Juvia's best and only chance. So I'll put all my faith in the hope that it will work." Timmy rose his gaze back up. The kid looked too mature that the young pirate woman could not just scold him or deny what he was saying even if she wanted to. He had been thinking about it too hard and already made up his mind.

"Index won't know if it's not possible until she's exhausted every option," Timmy argued. The argument was simple and everyone there could follow the logic easily, which made it even harder for Nami to counter him. "Which means that either Juvia will get healed soon, or she'll still be here at the end of the month as Index keeps trying new techniques. Either way, there is nothing that I can do for her by staying here. We won't give up on this route for saving Juvia so quickly that I would be needed anytime soon. I know how many different combinations Index was imagining she could try. We know how many she's managed to test out in the past two days. If she doesn't speed up at all, then the linear track she's on will still leave hundreds of possibilities available by the end of the month anyway. I did the math."

Nami sweatdropped. She pursed her lips and frowned at the kid whose math she was not going to question. Her responses were all emotional and trying to convince Timmy to stay because Juvia needed them, but she could not even convince herself of that. Nami glanced over her shoulder and thought of the last few times she had tried to give a reassuring touch or squeeze on Juvia who had once needed those to calm her down… until they stopped working. Now, Juvia just responded by glaring at her and shrugging off the attempts.

"In central Aebrith," Timmy began again. "The Resistance is fighting in territory that they haven't had control over for over a year. The region is destabilized after what you all did in Pyraxas. Giving the Resistance an opportunity to take advantage." Timmy sounded serious but also hopeful as he mentioned it. Nami's eyes grew wider. For a moment she had felt depressed as she remembered how Sora had scolded them all for their reckless assault on the Fire Nation. But Timmy put a different spin on it, the same one Gray tried to get them thinking like.

Timmy held a fist up in front of him and stated determinedly, "But the Homunculus are in the way. Father is in the way. The Resistance are fighting him right now, and they asked for my help. You told them that I would help them. You made that promise for me, and I intend to carry out that oath."

"Don't you put this on me," Nami scolded him. She whispered quickly at him, "I know you would be trying to do this whether or not you had some stupid promise to fulfill!"

"Also," Robin cut in. "I was the one who told Sasuke that you would be willing to help them if they assisted us in retrieving you." Timmy frowned over at Robin who just nodded her head at the boy. Timmy glanced back at Nami and felt worse for putting the blame for trying to rush out to fight Father on her, but he did not feel badly enough that his mind had changed. Robin exhaled a deep breath as her attempt to help her best friend did not work too well.

"Sora was here," Timmy started. His voice was intense as he spoke to the orange-haired woman staring in an uncertain way back at him. "Whatever he's doing, we know it's important. He said he was heading to the Tower of Babel. He's up here in Cooperative territory for some reason. I know it's important, and I know he's doing everything he can to help people." Timmy looked even more frustrated and he told Nami as much. "I should be doing the same. Not just sitting around. I have all this power, and with that comes a responsibility to help people. If I'm not helping anyone, then… what do I have all this strength for?"

"It can be for your friends," Nami started back at him.

"And do we know that none of our friends are there?" Timmy wondered. Nami froze. Robin rose her eyebrows at Timmy's counter which was a great argument that Nami could not come up with her own retort to quickly enough. "Killua left. Sora left. We left. You really think Natsu, or Luffy? You think they're still just sitting around at Resistance HQ?" Nami sweatdropped and had no believable response to give him. Izumo barely knew Luffy, but she sweatdropped too as she could not see that happening.

"They could be there. If they heard there was some big fight going on, you know they would have rushed straight into it," Timmy pleaded with Nami to understand. "Our friends could be out there right now. The war wasn't going well from what they told us, and that means that our friends would be in danger. And the Resistance with them. And anyone else in the area who is being threatened by the fighting! I could help all of them."

"It could be members of your crew. It could be Rin," Timmy added and looked to Nami's right side.

The teenage girl sitting there leaned back in her own seat and got a more thoughtful expression too as she imagined Okumura being in that battle. He would rush head-first into something like that without even thinking. Okumura, you're alright, right?

"Timmy. I just," Nami paused. His eyes were desperate, but she balled her own fists over the table and stayed strong. "I don't think it's a good idea. Another Capital 50 member could show up here. Someone who Touma can't stop. There could be complications. The Androids could order the magicians to suddenly arrest her because of her warrant. So many possibilities, right?" Nami added a question at the end. It was hard to argue with a kid as smart as Timmy had wished himself to be, but she knew how to get through to him. She offered up very real possibilities that made Timmy take pause and then bite down in even more frustration because she was right. Every one of those possibilities could happen.

Nami saw she had momentum and leaned back in her own seat. She crossed her arms and shook her head disapprovingly of the idea. "This is what we set out to do this month. It's already a huge task on its own. If you go and bite off more than you can chew, we could go from having a very successful mission to a disastrous one. We don't want a repeat of past events." Nami had closed her eyes while she was saying that, but she opened them and kept them narrowed at the kid who needed to understand his limits. Her narrow eyes bulged though at the shaking way in which Timmy was looking back at her. She sat up quickly and opened her mouth to apologize for bringing up Cartman and how Timmy got caught, but Timmy shook his head back to show her that was not what had him so upset.

Timmy closed his eyes after a moment of trying to gather his feelings into a coherent thought. Then he just whispered, "You're right. I got caught. I rushed into things and got caught. And, and Juvia died because I wasn't there to help her-"

"That's not- you would have been with me anyway. You wouldn't have been there to stop that," Nami assured him. She knew that when they split off from the Resistance half of their group, Timmy still would have been with their half going north.

Timmy clenched those close eyes shut even tighter. "But I would have been there to save Kairi then?" Timmy asked. He opened his eyes and looked into Nami's that shot open huge again. Just the fact that she did not immediately interrupt and counter him like she did with Juvia was all the proof Timmy needed. "Sora doesn't even blame me. That might be the worst part of it all. The Organization has her, and I… I wasn't there to help her."

"Timmy…" Nami started.

"Doflamingo turned you into a toy," Timmy continued in a pained voice that made Nami's eyes bulge once again at the frustration in his tone. "I just let it happen. Killua beat Sugar, and Goku beat Doflamingo. And then I just ran off and got captured by Cartman. That's all I've done since we landed on this stupid continent. I- I actually got upset when everyone recognized Goku's name but no one here knew about Timmy Turner. But Goku's beaten Lords. He fought the King! While I just- got brainwashed, and threatened the Resistance… threatened you."

"That wasn't- you weren't-" Nami tried countering him. She had not realized that he still cared so much about how he had come to threaten them all.

The more Timmy talked about it though, the worse he felt. It had already been bubbling just under the surface for a few days, but he could not hold it in anymore. "I let you both get taken by Saruman. Right under my nose. Robin's the one who found out about the Library. You navigated us here. And then, I nearly ruined everything by attacking the very magicians we needed to help us! I haven't been of any help on this 'mission' of ours. I've just been along for the ride."

"I have more power than probably anyone in this city. And, I'm not using it. To have that power and to sit around doing nothing as people get hurt, makes it my fault when they do. Because I could have stopped it." Timmy's voice got stronger as he started saying this. It was as much to tell Nami how he felt, as to remind himself as to why he could not just think of those worst-case scenarios happening to Juvia here in the safety of Valyria. "Nami. I need to go. If they lose that war, I will blame myself. If they lose their soldiers, or we lose our own friends?! It will be on me, because I could have been there. They need my help."

Timmy sniffled in once and then lifted an arm and wiped away a bit of snot that was close to running from his nose when he was wallowing in self-pity a moment ago. "Do you understand?" Timmy asked her.

Nami did not want to understand. You're a twelve year old! I wasn't alright with them sending you into war last week. I'm not okay with it right now! But, I can't argue with his stupid logic either. I don't want you to feel even more hurt. He knows that. He's using that against me. Nami grumbled and tilted her head back. She glared up at the ceiling and searched her brain for a way to counter all of his arguments. She knew what he was waiting for already though. He's telling me it's going to hurt him if I stop him. He won't leave without me though. We made that promise to each other, and we're staying by each other's side. So he's asking me to come with him. Saying he won't go if I won't come with him. But that I'd be hurting him. You little… Nami put her hands up through her hair.

She frazzled-up her own hair and turned to stare back at the powerful doors of the Inner Sanctum's Library room. They had been keeping the talking quiet because of their connection to the library, but there was barely anyone else in this part of the school library. "Nothing we can do for her, is there?" Nami mumbled. She was repeating what Timmy said and sounded unable to come up with a way to counter that. She was admitting aloud that she did not have any way to explain why their presence was necessary anymore.

"I will be staying," Robin said after catching Nami's tone and hearing where this was leading now. Nami turned and looked over at her friend who nodded at the two on her right side. "I will make sure she stays for her treatment. I do not mind spending my time in a library. I believe I can learn much here." She nodded at Timmy in reassurance for the boy that she could handle any worst-case that came for Juvia even if he left.

Timmy's eyes brightened up. The conflicted nature of the decision lifted at the look Robin gave him. She reminded him by that confident expression alone that his friends were capable. Robin was more than capable enough to handle looking after Juvia without him sitting there too.

After Robin looked to her right at the pair she knew was leaving, she turned and faced the girl across the table from her. Izumo tensed up at Robin's look. I don't know… Izumo Kamiki glanced over her shoulder. She looked around this huge library. It feels safe here. Should I really be considering leaving the Magic Kingdom when it's so secure? This is a sanctuary! And, and… is safety all that matters?

That's why I stayed in Amazonia. It was my home, but I never considered leaving because I thought it was safe. Even when it feels safe! Anywhere could be destroyed at any time. The Organization came after our kingdom just because Cassie let Luffy go, and he mouthed off about the King. This kingdom is harboring fugitives. They were openly hostile to a Capital 50 member. They ignore bounties set by High Lords! Am I really sure it's safe here? Izumo frowned deeper. So it's all about safety again? It's not all that matters. I would like to be safe though.

And with Timmy, Izumo reminded herself. I would be safe. He's not reading my mind… no. He stopped that. Izumo checked but the kid did not appear to notice her inner thoughts at all as he talked travel specifics with Nami. Better than these magicians who I don't even know, Timmy would protect me. He's stronger than them too. So I can sit here and do nothing, protected by people who I don't think could or would protect me… or I could try and do something useful with them. Maybe find Rin. Maybe, save Cassie? They have a friend captured by the Organization too. They'll go after them soon enough. And I want to be there for that!

"I'll come too," Izumo cut in on the conversation the other two were having. They looked over at the girl who paused for a second but then nodded to show she was sure she wanted to. She had been hesitant to trust them at first, but she was over that now. They came here all just to save Juvia. And the way Nami looks after Timmy? It's easy to trust you, especially since Okumura does. "Maybe Okumura is there," Izumo reasoned with a shrug like it was her only reasoning for tagging along.

Timmy hesitated, but Nami smiled and said, "Sounds great. Better to have a guide with us anyway," she reminded Timmy who nodded after a second. The two of them did not know the continent well enough to get around without some help. Izumo just sweatdropped though, wondering how much help she could be to them when she had spent most of her time on Nexus in Amazonia.

Besides, Izumo added to herself. I'm not too sure about the True Cross Order anymore. I thought they would be my best shot, but Hiroomi says they shifted alignment from the Resistance. Not that I'm Resistance anyway, but if an organization fighting demons is on the same side as Satan? It just doesn't add up.

"Let's go tell Juvia then," Nami started. The group got up from their seats. "We can't just leave without letting her know, at least."

The group made their way into the innermost part of the Inner Sanctum. They came to the Library's library, and they stood to the side and watched as Index and Juvia surrounded in bright white light that created a pillar up to the glass windows on the ceiling. It was a beautiful sight and gave off a sense of warmth that stunned the four who came in without expecting what they were about to see.

At a table off to the side, Kanzaki sat with a man with long straight red hair who had arrived that morning apparently from elsewhere in the Magic Kingdom. Touma had left to let the group of four inside, but he also stared towards Index and Juvia in amazement too at the spell Index cast. Juvia was breathing deeply in the middle of the pillar where she was on her knees directly in front of the nun reciting a prayer-spell over and over again.

Nami felt a surge of hope and actually considered that their whole conversation might have been unnecessary. That feeling of warmth was making her feel emotional, and tears welled up in her eyes at the sight of something curing Juvia. "That's, amaz-" Nami choked on her words, gasping like her overly emotional friends did as the giant light pillar faded without any fanfare.

Index let out a gasp and jumped up to her feet. "There! That should stabilize, whoa-" she started wobbling ironically right as she said the word "stabilize," but Touma was next to her in a second and had his left hand on her back to steady it. Stiyl and Kanzaki were too slow to reach the girl and just admired Touma from afar that he was the one quicker to her side, though he immediately scolded Index for tiring herself out already.

"Th-Thank you," Juvia whispered, lifting her head with tears in her eyes.

"Juvia!" Nami exclaimed and ran forward.

"Nami-san," Juvia got up in surprise. She had not expected the others to be in front of her, since she did not see them come in. "Are you-"

"You're alright!" Nami wrapped her friend up in a hug.

"Oh, uh…" Index looked away. Nami glanced at the girl and then pulled back from her hug with Juvia that made the blunette woman start frowning at her again. Nami dropped her arms and looked shocked, and she pulled away while reaching a hand up to her chest that pounded in pain at the sight of Juvia's frowning and semi-annoyed expression. That look got softer when Nami reacted that way, confusing the navigator more as that did not seem like Juvia's usual angry reaction.

"What was that?" Robin wondered as she approached with the other two. "It feels like there is a feeling of emotion swirling around us," Robin mentioned, as she did not normally feel like she currently did.

"That was just a spell to amplify her emotions temporarily," Index explained to the others. "I was concerned that what she had remaining would not be strong enough and that they would be lost. The Lazarus Pit takes a harsh toll, but I believe that with this spell, Juvia will want to stay here without needing as much convincing anymore." Index said that with a hopeful look at the taller witch who glanced down at the small nun and lost her frown after a second to nod in a more grateful way at her.

"I am feeling a bit better," Juvia admitted to the others. "And worse," she added. "For the way I have been acting. I'm sorry I've been like this."

"No one blames you," Izumo told her. Juvia was surprised to hear it from that girl, but Izumo nodded her head at the others with her. "They aren't affected by it at all. It's not your fault."

Timmy was uncertain all of a sudden of what he had come in here to say. I thought it would be easier because Juvia wasn't feeling anything! Oh man. Timmy looked down at his feet.

"What is it?" Touma asked the group, as he could see something was up.

"Is everything alright?" Juvia questioned.

She actually sounds worried, Nami thought. She turned to Timmy and opened her mouth to suggest they give it another day, but Timmy rose his gaze back to Juvia's and looked too serious for Nami to stop him.

"The Resistance is fighting a war nearby," Timmy began. He stopped dragging his feet and just came out with it, "We're going to help them. They asked for my help. They need my help. Juvia, I'm sorry-"

"You're 'sorry?'" Juvia growled. Timmy's eyes grew as wide as saucers as Juvia glared in fury at him. "You're leaving me, and you're 'sorry?!'"

"I- I'm sorry I-"

"Juvia, there's nothing we can do for you. We'll be back to check on your progress," Nami began, stepping forward so she was closer than the kid who got too hurt by Juvia to come up with a fast response. "We are sorry."

"And I will still be here with you," Robin assured the angry mage who snapped her glare over to her darker-haired friend. Robin had a soft expression and darted her eyes over to Timmy then back again. Juvia's eyes grew as she realized that Robin thought she had enough sense to understand that she had just upset Timmy in the state she was in now. And she did. Juvia calmed herself down and took a deep breath. He's sorry. Robin will be here with me.

"I'll stay by your side, no matter what," Robin continued to the younger woman who was already calming down.

Those three words made Juvia freeze. Her body froze up and her eyes shook as she stared at the ground between her feet. "No matter what." So many voices echoed in her head saying those exact words. She looked up to the woman who had made that promise at the same bar they stayed at last night.

She wouldn't say that and leave. She'll be here until I am cured. Juvia sniffled a few times and then wiped her own nose. Her emotions were running too high after that spell though. Her eyes shifted from Robin over onto Nami and Timmy. She even glanced at Izumo gratefully for what the girl had just said to her. She focused on Nami though and whispered, "You didn't let me do it again. You, kept your word."

Juvia turned with that emotional look and smiled at Timmy who was worried he had upset her so much. "You stopped me from killing anyone else. All of you… thank you."

Emotions were high because of the radius of the spell that was most powerful on Juvia, but Index had tears in her eyes, and Juvia's friends all got choked up too. Stiyl sweatdropped and glanced to his side to see if Kanzaki was watching the same gooey scene he was. She had to turn away from Stiyl though and bring a handkerchief to her face to the shock of the younger man at her side.

"We'll be back, Juvia," Timmy assured her. "After I defeat Father- well, and then maybe after we find Sora again." Timmy looked to Nami who nodded as they had talked about this as they discussed their plans. "If I am stronger than Father like we think I am, it might be done quickly. In that case, we're going to chase Sora down."

"We're worried Sora will rush off after Kairi on his own without our help," Nami confessed. She turned to Robin who nodded in equal concern about that after the two of them were reminded so recently of how much Sora loved Kairi. Saruman forced them to see memories that Sora would have preferred to keep to himself, but the pirates would never forget what they had witnessed. Nami continued while refacing Juvia, "So we'll go find him and-"

"So you aren't coming back?" Juvia's emotions flipped. Her expression was already twisting when Nami turned away, and the others stared back at her in shock as Juvia glared furiously into Nami's eyes. "You're leaving me. Off on fun adventures! Leaving me without even waiting to see if I'm alright?!"

"Wh-What? I mean- we could stay," Nami started. Even Timmy started nodding his head and doubling-back on his plans as Juvia apparently was not taking it well.

"What about Kairi?!" Juvia yelled at them though. Nami dropped her jaw. Juvia was just getting mad at them for leaving, and now she was yelling at them for going back on it. It was too confusing to keep up with. "You can't just stay here," Juvia scolded Nami. "I want Kairi to be saved too! Don't listen to me!" Juvia snapped.

Everyone was confused. Robin gave Juvia a soft smile though and said, "We understand."

We do? The rest of the room thought at once.

Juvia stared back at Robin in confusion that Robin could understand when even she did not know what she was saying. "But that's why I am going to stay here with you. Don't worry. Even though we'll be apart, our hearts are connected."

"Oh don't start with that crap!" Juvia exclaimed. "Just because we were talking about Sora and Kairi doesn't mean you get to do that," Juvia pointed a finger at Robin in an accusatory way.

Robin held up her hands defensively but also in a joking way like she got caught. Juvia actually laughed when Robin reacted like that, and all the tension in the room went away in an instant. The others looked at Robin in awe. Even Juvia realized that she had just found that joke funny and stared in surprise at Robin for getting her to laugh for what felt like the first time in a month.

Robin adjusted to Juvia's new mental state so fast.

Was she testing out how Juvia's emotions are working? Or did she already figure that out?! That's amazing.

Incredible.

Alright, Robin is too cool. Izumo glanced away after thinking that. She tried to wipe the grin from her face too, and she refocused back ahead as the others started talking again.

"Okay. In that case, we're going to head off," Nami told them. She looked to Index once again and bowed her head to the girl as did Timmy behind her. "Thank you so much, Index. Please, help her."

"I'm in your debt. If you ever need help," Timmy offered. Nami twitched and glared back at Timmy for making another stupid promise to help another group of people. He already had her, his other friends, and the whole of the Resistance to think about. Timmy did not regret saying it though. "Just ask," Timmy finished.

"See you soon, Juvia. When we next see you, I bet you're going to be giggling like a schoolgirl," Nami teased in a tone full of hope for just that future. Juvia dryly chuckled once but then just nodded her head back at the pirate. Nami frowned that she failed to get the same kind of genuine reaction Robin managed.

"Let's get out of here," Nami said as she spun around during Timmy's goodbye to Juvia. "Don't want you promising the rest of the kingdom that you'll help them too," Nami said with a shake of her head as they marched off. "Touma!" She called out too, reminding him that he needed to help them with the exit.

Touma ran after the two of them while Timmy complained back at Nami that he had to offer his gratitude in some way. "A 'thank you' really does go a long way," Nami retorted. "Maybe think about just saying that next time…"

Izumo had turned to follow them. She gave a small wave to Juvia instead of a goodbye. She slowed down though after waving like that. Izumo glanced back but not at Juvia this time. Robin stepped away from the other two as Index started talking to Juvia about getting lunch while she recovered some mana. "Kamiki-san?"

"You can call me Izumo," Izumo started. She pursed her lips after saying it. Robin smiled at the girl but still kept a quizzical look wondering why Izumo had turned around in the first place. "Thank you for…" Izumo got out. "Everything." She did not know if she wanted to say for the clothes on her back or just for the way she had been treated. "I'm sorry for treating you at all like Bronxi. You're nothing like her."

Robin shook her head back at the girl. The way she did it indicated Izumo was no trouble at all and that she did not mind helping her. Robin smiled in a caring way for the teenage girl, and she told her, "Be safe out there. And bundle up before you leave. I think it might snow. Nami will know better." Robin added the last part as a fact since their navigator would never miss an incoming weather system.

Izumo just smiled back softly. She nodded at the older woman who was looking out for her. "I will," she responded quietly, then she spun away with pink cheeks and jogged to catch up with the others.

---

Days went by at the magical school of Hogwarts without any luck on saving Juvia. The Sins moved on too, but because it was only Robin and Juvia there now, Hogwarts offered up a two-person dorm for them in the castle at Index's behest. Robin kept a close eye on Juvia in the day following their friends' departure from Valyria, but since Juvia suddenly snapped in fury at Robin for watching her so closely, Robin had decided to keep more of a distance. She used her skills to spy on Juvia without the mage noticing. Robin felt the need to make sure that Juvia was not trying to slip away once she got distracted.

There was much to distract Nico Robin with in the halls of Hogwarts too. One evening she spotted a young man in a pair of glasses who had a lightning-shaped scar on his forehead rushing out of the front of the castle while she was up in a third floor hallway. She had created an ear down on a tree trunk in the courtyard to eavesdrop on Harry's conversation with a Professor Snape who she had spoken with the day before. "Sorry to run off like this. Thank you again, Professor Snape!"

"You are a professor yourself, Mr. Potter," Severus responded to the young adult who had his own class here to teach. "Though you seem to forget that fact frequently," Snape added in a disapproving voice.

"Really, I am sorry! It's important that I get to Ouno-"

"Take care now, Potter," Severus just told the boy he interrupted. Harry smiled back and then spun and jumped, pulling out a stick from under his cloak that he clicked a button on. The stick extended into a broomstick that the magician flew away on while his old professor just shook his head at the busy younger man's back.

Robin went on about her day, though she did wonder what that magician was in such a hurry for. She closed her right eye again and checked on an eye she had created inside of the Inner Sanctum. The magical protections in that part of the library still did not catch her use of a Devil Fruit power, telling Robin of the limitations of magic and what the mages here could not sense. Just like those magicians outside had not noticed her ear, none of the interesting people of Hogwarts had realized that this pirate was watching them all in interest.

Robin also kept close track of new arrivals at the school other than the students. The students seemed to always arrive in batches for their classes, so arrivals at different times were more unusual and caught her attention. A man she had spotted arrive on Hogwarts' grounds entered the library that Robin had returned to after lunch. She casually read a book on basic magic techniques to test compatibility with different types of magic. Her attention shifted from the book that she closed and tucked under one arm.

The dark-haired woman walked up behind the man with short and similarly black hair who was returning a book he had loaned. There was a self-return counter for him to do it without bothering the librarian who Robin had only caught a few short glances of so far. She was curious about the elusive librarian, but she was too cautious and respectful to test damaging one of the books in order to see if the librarian would approach her, as Zaratras had warned her about before that Holy Knight left with his two companions.

"Hello there," Robin greeted when the man scanned his book's barcode and then slid it into the slot for returns. The magician who turned to her lifted his eyebrows in surprise at the sight of this beautiful woman and the fact that she had approached him for some reason.

"Hello," Wong replied. The man in a purple and red cloak that gave him an appearance somewhat monk-like looked Robin up and down. "Can I help you with something?" He asked.

"That book you just returned," Robin mentioned. She had caught the title of it before Wong could slide it through the slot. "I take it you are a powerful mage? I am looking to get started learning magic myself."

"There are many magicians here who are also professors," Wong replied. He glanced away and excused himself, "I am sure one of them would be more willing-"

"But I have a feeling that none are as powerful as you," Robin countered him. Wong paused for a moment. He narrowed his eyes at the woman before him. Is she flirting with me? Or is she serious about that? She's just trying to stroke my ego to get me to stay. But, then does she really know I am strong?

I already asked about the book I saw him returning. I was discouraged from checking it out because I would not understand any of the higher level magic inside. "Perhaps I was wrong," Robin said and sighed. "Perhaps you are not as strong as you look." She turned away away, but she cast a short mischievous look back at the man who exhaled deeply himself then frowned at the woman who began walking back to her table.

"You will not convince me to be your teacher in such a way," Wong scolded her. "This attempt may work for you on younger men than myself. I am a disciplined-"

Thud. "Oh my," Robin accidentally dropped her book from where it had been tucked under her arm. "How silly of me." She bent down in front of Wong and picked back up the book, then she stood up and continued to her seat, glancing once more out the corner of her eyes to the monk who was not as disciplined as he claimed to be.

Wong gulped at the amount of woman he saw before him. Careful, Wong. This may be too much for you, he warned himself as if preparing for battle, then he approached the woman who took her seat again and reopened her book on magical basics. "I see what you did there," Wong informed her.

"What I did?" Robin asked innocently.

"Ah, a-hem, yes," Wong cleared his throat. Then he wondered why he approached her in the first place if he was just going to tell her that he was immune to the antics she had tried on him. He stood next to this woman whose shirt was tight-fitting, and he was staring down past her head to the… book. The book! His eyes focused on the text and not where Robin deliberately brought his attention to by keeping the book so close beneath her chest.

"You really are just starting out," Wong noted. The book she had open was full of novice information about magic. Not even for beginners, the text was just describing magic itself and basic information about it. "You came to Hogwarts with such little prior knowledge on magic? You should start off smaller before attempting to enroll here," he suggested.

"That's not why I'm here," Robin simply told him. "But I would like to learn while I am waiting."

Waiting for what? Why are you here? What a mysterious woman!

Wong had not intended to spend much of his afternoon at Hogwarts. He did not even plan on checking out a new book. He was only stopping by to drop off the old book to avoid incurring the librarian's wrath should he be late for its expected return. Wong wound up spending over two hours conversing with the woman who learned much from the man who initially refused to teach her. He left feeling exhausted and questioning himself what had just happened.

The world of magic on Nexus is even more expansive than I believed, Robin thought after she watched her tutor depart. She had tried to narrow her questions in a specific way so that she would not be left with more questions than answers. She had not succeeded in that. Her curiosity kept getting the better of her and she pried into the past of the man she learned to be the "Sorcerer Supreme." Though apparently there had been two Sorcerer Supremes on Nexus alone before Wong inherited the title. It sounds like Doctor Steven Strange would have been a great man to learn from. Meruem does not like time magic though. Wong was surprised that I knew such a thing.

Robin shivered. As composed as she could always keep herself, she pictured that scene again at Ha'gar's Peak. Even when he was being grateful to Ben for defeating Nox, Robin could tell from one look just how powerful that creature was. Killua did not treat him the same way that Gray did. Gray felt he was an undefeatable being. He knelt to the Ant King while the rest of us were frozen. Killua called him by his name though. "Meruem." Meruem looked impressed by Killua's audacity, or perhaps by what Killua claimed he had done on his own world. The Ant King has been defeated before. He died once, and Killua helped make that happen. Yet the Ant King did not just execute him for that.

Is it that Meruem believes time to be the one thing beyond his control? Or does he have some other reason for hunting time-abusers? I do not know. Robin sat back in her seat and stared up at the ceiling for a minute. She wanted to start reading her books again but focused on the parts that Wong specifically told her would be good to begin learning with. The magicians tend to be more Resistance-leaning, but so many who were farthest leaning have already been killed. It is why the Magic Kingdom can remain unaligned. Those who disagreed just left to join the Resistance instead. Rather than dragging in the rest of the kingdom, they left. So now the demographics have shifted. There is more Pro-Cooperative sentiment here than I had started to hope. Wong's warning to be careful about what I asked when it came to their weaknesses… it was a real concern of his that another magician near us would hear it and do something.

The concern in his expression told me more than any amount of promises from the Magic King, Index, or Goodwitch. This is not the safe sanctuary we believe it to be. Hogwarts is inside of Cooperative territory. This land was conquered by the Androids. They are subservient. If Lord Zarbon had been here on the King's orders and not just to hunt his missing slaves, who I was surprised to see were with Meliodas-san… Had he come on Meruem's orders, they would have obeyed him. The Library could be used by the Cooperative. Touma Kamijou might fight against it if it comes to that, but he would be one of very few who does.

Robin refocused on her texts and honed-in her concentration. She did glance back towards the Inner Sanctum though, and she closed an eye for a second to check back in on Juvia's progress. Robin sighed and opened the eye back up. She got up from her table and walked back for the Inner Sanctum with her books in hand. She went closer to the door to the Library and got back to reading without concerning herself with checking in as often. This was the only exit, so she just had to check every time someone went in or came back out in order to complete her task of keeping Juvia there.

She did not have to worry much about people going in and out of Index's room. A few more hours after Wong had left her, Robin finally saw someone approach the doors. The young man with a long blue braid of hair lifted a spellbook up and read a list of phrases off of it. Then he flipped a page, and he continued to read of more lines. Then he pointed his wooden staff at the door. The staff vibrated and Robin glanced down at her forearms that got goosebumps all over them.

Robin looked back up to the boy who looked to be in his early teens, maybe not even as old as Index. He wore a black magician's outfit completed with the pointy hat over his head. He had a golden chain around the top of his head with a red oval orb in the middle of his forehead. The boy wore another chain around his neck too that had a golden flute dangling off the bottom of it that stuck out from the split collar of his robe. Aladdin put his staff back over his back so the winged head of it stuck out above his right shoulder. Then he stepped forward and typed in a passcode to the secret vault inside the library, and he opened the door to the inner Inner Sanctum.

The door closed behind him. Robin was able to check on him though using her Devil Fruit power. Juvia was in the midst of deep meditation due to a task Index just gave her. Index sat to the side with a bottle of water she was chugging. She wiped her lips and shook her head around to get back into it, with Touma giving her a few pats on the back of encouragement since he saw how hard Index was working. The two of them froze though and spun when they saw who was approaching, and huge smiles spread across both of their faces.

Nico Robin lost the last bit of wariness she felt about him. She did still make an ear appear inside too near the others aside from Juvia. Index's friend was returning a grimoire to her that he waved his hand at so it flew up three stories in Index's private library. It slid itself straight back into the shelf he had borrowed it from. "You ready for our next lesson, Index?"

"Oh! Sorry, Aladdin." Index glanced over her shoulder and then back to the boy in front of her who was only about a head taller than she was. "I totally forgot. And, I actually have to cancel…"

Aladdin looked past Index as she was apologizing to him. His eyes grew wide at the sight of the blue-haired woman kneeling over there with her eyes closed. Just like Index, he could see something around her that no one else could. "Her energy," Aladdin whispered. Index just nodded her head, while the two boys in there and Nico Robin all looked back to Juvia themselves. Stiyl was leaning back against a bookshelf near the others but pushed off it and stepped closer to get a better look at Juvia. As he thought though, there was nothing that his eyes could see wrong with her.

Aladdin saw it though. He saw it in a slightly different way than Index did herself. "She must be suffering so," Aladdin whispered.

"You can tell?" Touma wondered.

Aladdin nodded back at the spikier-haired and taller teenager. Touma hummed while looking at her himself but just sweatdropped since he saw nothing wrong with Juvia at all. "Have you attempted to use your hand on her?" Aladdin wondered curiously. Touma looked back and then down at his right hand.

"It's actually one of the first things we tried," Touma admitted while putting his hand back down to his side. "But it isn't a spell affecting Juvia or anything like that. Right, Index?"

"Mm," Index hummed in agreement but did not say anything in response.

Touma looked confusedly at her for the unenthusiastic agreement. Aladdin scratched his chin thoughtfully though as he stared back in Juvia's direction. "That's very interesting. I thought I had your hand all figured out."

"You did?" Touma wondered. I don't even know much about it still.

"Well, I started to come up with a hypothesis that I believe is mostly true." Aladdin held up a palm and theorized, "I've been researching this world's energy makeup. How the physics and logic from our own realms unite. You see? The dimension that we reside in," Aladdin curled his fingers and then waved his hand slowly in front of his body, creating shimmering lights that turned into a three-dimensional hologram of space before them. "It holds many different races from many different universes. In some of those universes, a certain kind of energy existed that in yours could have been 'ESP' or 'magic.' In my own, magic was real- called Magoi, but the energy I speak of would be the 'Rukh.'" Fluttering white lights that looked like butterflies shimmered in the diagram of space before it all faded away.

"The Rukh?" Touma asked. "And what was that?"

"The Rukh was- is, the energy of fate," Aladdin replied. The way he switched from the past tense confused Touma for a second, and then his eyes widened again and he spun back towards Juvia. "Just as I could see the Rukh in living things- in all the world around me back on my world, I can see something similar around Juvia. Black Rukh. The opposite of Rukh. Created when one fights fate, defies destiny, fueling hatred and evil."

"Defying destiny, huh?" Touma whispered.

They brought Juvia back from the dead, Robin thought. The woman was not liking what Aladdin was saying, but she found herself trusting the boy's words. Has that created the imbalance in her Rukh? I thought the Lazarus Pit had a curse attached to it. But is it the Pit itself, or the fact that she was brought back to life which immediately upsets balance? I have seen certain reactions just from bringing up her death and revival that suggest as much, even before we mention the Pit.

"It is not exactly Rukh that surrounds that woman though," Aladdin continued. "As I was saying, Rukh is just one of so many unique energies that this world absorbed. All of which I thought your hand affected, though this may be a unique case. The Rukh itself was moving, fluid, almost alive. My understanding of magic and Magoi completely relied on the existence of Rukh. Yet on this world the Rukh were gone. The Lifestream combined together with the Force, with the Rukh from my own world. My own part of the multiverse. I can feel a similar energy from this world's energy sources. Combined into a new, raw form of energy. Life energy that fills all things."

"It is different than ki, or chakra, and it is not the Light inside us. Nor is it spiritual power or willpower. The aura around her is a dark field of life energy that cannot be identified as one single origin. No one world where the energy creating her turmoil originates. I suspect you do not have a single spell that can treat her," Aladdin pondered, though he sounded like he knew the answer already when he brought it up.

Index nodded her head but told him, "I am mixing spells though. Just as those energies have merged, there must be spells never before used that combined can save her. I'm certain of it."

"Oh I bet there are!" Aladdin agreed enthusiastically. He smiled brightly back at Index in an optimistic and hopeful way of his own. Even though he just said he suspected they had no spells to cure her, he had not sounded pessimistic or despondent even then. He was just stating an observation that had Robin looking down at her own feet dejectedly outside of the room. She lifted that hurt gaze though when she spotted the kids' faces inside the Library's library, and heard their voices start to spitball new combos, and she realized that she needed to keep the same kind of attitude they had rather than give up so quickly.

I already knew that there was no simple answer. Those brilliant children are brainstorming ideas to save Juvia. A woman they don't know. They are doing it out of curiosity and in their own search for knowledge. But more importantly, they just sound like good people. Helping us for no other reason than because Juvia is suffering.

What is that he said about the "light" though? I'm curious. Robin thought, unable to keep her mind solely on Juvia when she was learning so many interesting things. Index seems to know. It is something that Sora has brought up before, and Zaratras mentioned it too in reference to how he escaped Riku's orders quicker than Blackbeard did.

"…I don't have a name for it yet. Maybe I'll call it 'Nexus energy' or something. The world is overflowing with it, and not just here at one of the focal points," Aladdin went on in his explanation. "It's so plentiful that I'm sure once someone is able to harness this energy as powerfully as any of the world's strongest use the powers from their home worlds, that person will be the strongest there is. They won't have anyone to learn from though. No one to teach the power. It's an energy that no one understands and no one had ever seen before reaching Nexus. This spell mixing you're doing is truly amazing when you think about it like that."

"Is there such a way to harness that energy?" Stiyl wondered, having walked up to the table now the others were gathered at. "Do you understand it?" Stiyl asked the kid who had a deeper understanding about this than anyone he had met on Nexus thus far.

Aladdin hesitated but shrugged his shoulders up. "I've tried combining it with my powers, but it does not flow into me as the Rukh did. I have had to teach myself how to absorb and use this power for attacks and defense. But it is difficult, and so I most frequently resort to using regular magic compared to more mystical forms of energy." He added after seeing Stiyl's thoughtful look, "I'm the only one who can even try though. I've tried helping some magicians do it but the energy doesn't seem to like being manipulated."

Though, Aladdin countered himself. Titus and Yunan have both been able to see it as well. Other Magi. Maybe Judar can see it too… I'll ask him if I see him. Yunan seems to think that the King Candidates are blessed by the Nexus energy. Whether they were blessed before finding towers or if they only became blessed after conquering them is the question though. Did the boy with the strange eyes who Yunan found in the Demon's Forest possess that energy before finding the tower, and that's what allowed him to conquer it? We do not know yet.

Stiyl slouched his shoulders and let out a sigh. Thought it was too good to be true. The idea that he might get ahead of others with this bit of extra knowledge sounded too convenient. It sounded to him more like most of what Aladdin just informed them of was not going to be very helpful.

"I need to get back to Juvia," Index told her friend. She sounded reluctant and like she wanted to spend more time talking to him. She could see Juvia's expression twitching though over where the woman was supposed to be meditating. Index put down her water bottle and stretched her arms up over her head. "Oh! How is your practice going? Did you manage to-"

"That's right!" Aladdin exclaimed as she reminded him. "I haven't told you. I fired off a complete Ryuou no Satsuki!" Index jumped up excitedly when Aladdin told her that, though Touma just sweatdropped and leaned back from the extremely powerful magician. "The Killing Breath of the Dragon King is one of the most powerful attacks I've ever been able to cast. Thank you for explaining it to me. The raw power alone meant that it didn't stop until it hit the barrier of Nexus. The sky flashed purple for miles away from the impact point." Aladdin shook his head and finished, "It sure drained me though."

"I did warn you," Index reminded him. Aladdin laughed and scratched the back of his head as she certainly did give him a warning. Index smiled herself at the younger boy who bowed back and thanked her again, then she spun with a smug look on her face and started marching back towards Juvia. Index clapped her hands together and rubbed them in anticipation as she prepared to go test out new spells, feeling more confident than ever.

Touma lifted back up a small smile as he watched the nun girl walk over to Juvia. Then he turned to Aladdin himself and wondered, "We should have given you a call or something. We have no idea how long Juvia's treatment might take."

"That's alright," Aladdin waved him off not to apologize. "That is more important than helping me. I still haven't been able to break through my limits, and it might be something I need to do on my own if I ever am to stand a chance against Meruem-" Brring-brring!

Robin's eyes shot wide open back outside of the room. The short boy who had stepped in to meet with Index did not give her the impression at all of someone powerful. Yet to even consider what the boy just started to say before getting interrupted, she knew that his strength must have been far beyond what she expected. He said he made an attack that caused the barrier of Nexus to light up. Goku, Timmy, and even Natsu have all been able to do the same. That does not mean he is powerful enough to face the Ant King. He seems to understand that himself. Robin steadied her breathing and just listened closer to the ringing she heard that had interrupted Aladdin.

Aladdin pulled out a disc-shaped communicator that he held on his right palm. He pressed a button that made a hologram appear over it, and Touma and Stiyl both went wide-eyed and backed up with sweaty expressions. "Titus!" Aladdin greeted the King of Leam who the older teens were more shocked to see.

Aladdin's fellow Magi smiled at the enthusiastic greeting Aladdin met him with. "Hello, Aladdin," he greeted his old rival and close friend.

"How are you? It's been a while! I haven't been back to Leam- is something wrong? Do you need my help?" Aladdin asked in sudden concern about the reason he was being called. Titus had seemed so busy when he last saw the King of Leam that he was not surprised to have not heard from him since then.

"No, it's not that," Titus assured him. "Actually," Titus glanced up as if looking above his own hologram device. Then he smiled back at Aladdin's face and told him, "I called to tell you that Alibaba and Morgiana are on Aebrith."

Aladdin pulled back in surprise. His head tilted to the side in confusion too at what Titus just told him. "Huh? Is- is Rhodar coming in? Are they finally going to help?" Aladdin asked hopefully. He was hesitant to believe it, but he held some hope that maybe Alibaba had changed his mind.

"No, that's not it," Titus countered.

Aladdin's expression fell and he frowned to hear that. He was not surprised though. Alibaba had told him why he could not bring Rhodar into this continent's problems, and he accepted those reasons. Aladdin still felt disappointed though to hear it. Then Titus continued to him, "Alibaba gave up his kingdom. They're here looking for you!" Aladdin's jaw dropped and his eyes started to get teary a second later as he saw that Titus was not joking.

"I don't know where you are right now that I managed to get service to you. Our communications are blocked across the Cooperative so I couldn't reach you when you were in the Ren Empire. That's where I sent them to look for you, so I haven't heard from them since. It hasn't been long though. If you're at the Library right now, you might be able to catch up to them before they meet with Kouen."

"You really mean it? Alibaba is here? Morg too?!" Aladdin exclaimed. He finally found words and just confirmed with Titus who nodded back at him again. "Why? For me? He gave up Rhodar? What are you talking-"

"They wanted to come help you. Alibaba didn't want to drag in Rhodar, as much as I wanted him to. He is protecting his people and I cannot help but respect his decision. He came though anyway. To help us himself- well, to help you." Titus lifted the corners of his lips higher as he got to give this good news to his great friend. "He broke off his marriage to Daenerys. She's the Queen of Rhodar now while he's just Alibaba Saluja. Alibaba and Morg got hitched before they left Balbadd too."

"Whaaa-" Aladdin spun and covered his mouth as he saw a dark glare coming from the other blunette across the room. He apologized for his loud exclamation with a few bows towards Index and Juvia. Then he waved a hand and called to his white-haired friend, "Sorry, Index. I have to get going! See you soon!"

"Bye Aladdin!"

Tears were spilling from Aladdin's eyes as he ran out of the Library's library. Robin watched the young man in a mixture of amazement and amusement. King Alibaba stepped down as the King of Rhodar? So that he could come here and help you on your mission? No wonder it is affecting him so much. It sounds like you have some amazing friends, Aladdin.

Uncle might not be very happy to see Alibaba after all the trade Rhodar has been doing with Leam! Aladdin wiped his eyes and rushed out as fast as he could. He jumped up in the air once he reached Hogwarts' central courtyard, then he flew high in the sky and straight out of the barriers that surrounded the school and city beyond it. A sphere of white aura surrounded him and then pulsed, and the blue-haired boy blurred through the air as he sped up. A shockwave rippled out away from him high in the sky and sent clouds flying away from him. He rocketed off to the southeast.

Despite his concern about what Kouen might do to Alibaba when they meet, Aladdin could not keep his lips from curling back into the biggest smile over his face. You came? You really came here just to help me?! You didn't have to do that, stupid! You guys… Tears filled the boy's eyes again and splashed off the sides of his face as he soared towards Rakushou. Thank you.

---

"What is it?" Robin asked as she approached the group in the center of Index's chambers. Touma had gone to get her, but Index frowned over at the spiky-haired boy who got a confused look on his face at her stare.

"Stiyl, Kamijou," Kanzaki started. The two boys looked her way and received a harsh look from the swordswoman. "Leave us for a minute."

"Go, Touma," Index agreed. He did not like to leave her alone, and especially with how erratic Juvia had been acting he was not sure it was a good idea. Robin gave him a reassuring nod though. He also saw how serious Kanzaki looked, so he relented. Touma shrugged and walked off for the exit with Stiyl not far behind him. Stiyl glanced back once towards Kanzaki in a way wondering what this was about, but she continued to glare at him so he just held his hands up defensively and backed out of there with Touma.

Robin walked over to Juvia's side as she saw a nervous look on the blunette's face. "I'm here, Juvia," Robin assured her.

Juvia frowned at the older woman but said nothing. She looked back to Index and curled her fists at her sides, though she was holding back from saying anything just yet. Juvia had been holding back a lot lately. Her chest pounded though after seeing how Index reacted earlier to her most recent attempts to cure Juvia. She had seen Index go up and whisper to Kanzaki before Robin was called in and the boys were dismissed. What is wrong? Something's going on here. Juvia glared suspiciously at the pair who looked back at her in no angry way of their own. They only looked at her with sad and pitying eyes.

"I'm afraid there's bad news," Kanzaki began.

Robin lifted a hand and put it on Juvia's right shoulder closer to her. "You said you could fix me!" Juvia snapped before Robin could try reassuring her friend. Robin squeezed that shoulder tighter to keep Juvia in place as she felt her comrade almost tug forward out of her grip.

She frowned at Juvia when the mage glared her way for that hold. "Give them a moment," Robin said. She kept her voice soft and soothing. "Let them explain first. But remain calm, Juvia."

"How can I be calm? This was it. My only shot! They've just been wasting my time if there's only bad news!" Juvia exclaimed. Robin noticed the erratic behavior and glanced to Index once who looked guilty herself. The older woman assumed that Index's magic amplifying Juvia's emotions was still in effect, and though that was apparently helping keep Juvia from losing all emotion altogether, it was also exaggerating the bad emotions in cases like these. "You said you'd keep trying. Are you giving up?" Juvia snapped back at the short girl who just shook her head side to side. The head shake told Juvia she was jumping to too many conclusions, and she finally sucked in a deep breath and then held herself back from saying anything more. Juvia finally just nodded at them to go on.

"Index," Kanzaki continued after the outburst. "Has discovered something." Index lowered her gaze to the floor and did not look happy about having to give this news.

Robin started to worry herself that telling Juvia to wait a minute was not going to help this situation. She had thought of a few backup plans if this did not work out, but she had tried to hold the same faith the others had that Index would save Juvia. In this moment she realized just how much faith she apparently had, because she did not know what she was going to do if Index could not save Juvia. Still, she squeezed Juvia's shoulder harder and in a stronger way so the girl would know that she was there with her. She squeezed trying to reach Juvia through the haze of this blight on her soul.

"I believe I will be able to fix the bloodlust caused by your revival from the Lazarus Pit," Index began softly. "However… the magic will not fix, the other problem. In fact, it will certainly make that other impact permanent." Index lifted her gaze back up. She rose her eyes from being pointed at the floor, to being pointed at Juvia's stomach instead.

Juvia's left hand shot from her side over to her stomach. Her eyes bulged huge and trembled as the girl curled her fingers over her shirt. Robin's hand moved from Juvia's shoulder down to her right hand. She interlocked their fingers and then put her other hand on top too to clasp them together. Robin did whatever she could to try and make this hurt less, though her own heart filled with such sadness as she caught the expression on Juvia's face. Her shaking face and eyes that had been so devoid of emotion, or angry, for so long, now expressed just how strong the feelings were that this news was causing.

"Y-You mean?" Juvia began. Her voice flattened out and she took in another deep breath. "I won't be able to… ever?"

Index hesitated but then nodded her head. "It's not a medical reason," Index explained in a soft voice. "But the 'life' energy inside you that needs to be re-adjusted. The Lazarus Pit infected your body. When you came back to life, your life energy returned. It was still yours that came back to your body. But that life energy had spent time outside. It- in order to go back, it got infected by the very hate that affects you now. It has only taken so long for it to take hold because your life energy must have been so bright in the first place. So full of light." Index offered that consolation up with a small smile but dropped it again as Juvia's eyes just narrowed back at the girl in anger.

"I'm sorry," Index whispered. "The more I understand about your affliction, the more I've come to figure out how I can heal you. But whatever method I use. Whatever method I attempt. It will result in your life energy not being able to be passed on. A cleansing of spirit. Where the life energy I speak of will not be able to transmit back and forth any longer."

"And when having children," Kanzaki finished for the struggling young nun. "You pass on some of your life force to those children. The procedure to cure you of the Lazarus Pit's curse, will sterilize you. That is why we need to have this talk. Why we need to stop here and ask you," Kanzaki paused while Juvia spun and glared at her in anger now for what the woman was suggesting.

"Making me choose?" Juvia snarled. Her fists balled so hard, and she glared down to her right side to see how Robin had not let go. Juvia understood that she was hurting the older woman at her side with how hard she was squeezing, but Robin did not pull her hands away. Juvia loosened her grip and glanced back up into Robin's saddened eyes. She nodded at the woman and slowly pulled her hand away in a way that Robin did not stop this time.

Juvia looked back to the floor. She felt a sudden lack of emotions. Do I care? She questioned. She truly wondered if she did. I wanted kids. I wanted Gray's kids. Juvia wanted that at least. I know I should be sad. I am scared. If I'm about to get my emotions back, will I regret this choice? I already regret it. They want me to choose. They can't just sterilize me without saying anything. Of course they couldn't. Juvia rose a hand to her face and dragged it down from her forehead over her eyes. She twitched and then kept her hand there blocking her eyes for a minute. I don't know. What should I do? Is this the best choice? Why don't I just kill them all and run? What-

Juvia bowed her head. Well there's my answer. She dropped her hand from her face. "I have to do this," she whispered. Her teeth clenched and rage spread across her face. "Damn it. Damn it!"

"Are you certain?" Robin asked. She wanted more than anything for Juvia to be cured, but she started thinking about finding another way for them to do that. "Maybe there is, a better option," Robin went on.

"I don't have time for that," Juvia hissed. "I know it. I know it's my only choice!" Juvia yelled to her side at her friend who just pursed her lips then nodded back in understanding, even if she did not know what Juvia was going through exactly. Juvia whispered in a lower voice, "This rage can't continue. I'll kill more people. Hurt my friends. I feel it. I know I'm right there. On the edge, teetering off."

"So whatever you have to do," Juvia said while refacing Index. She sounded and looked serious. Her expression was angry but even that shifted away as Juvia stated, "Do it. It's the right thing to do. You let me go without fixing me, and I am going to kill again. I feel a need to. A desire." Juvia could see the blood pumping in the necks of the women around her. She started sweating once she realized she was focusing on it. Her eyes clenched shut for a second and then snapped open to stare into Index's eyes. "Fix me. Whatever it costs. I'll accept it."

---

A/N ;( Sad ending to this chapter when compared to the funny one to end the last. I can't do review responses today because I have 4% battery in my laptop and I want to post this quickly before my next class. Anyway, I hope you enjoyed the chapter. Nami, Izumo, and Timmy head off to face Father! Where Gajeel's squad left to earlier in this saga. And where Alpha Squad and Natsu's group were on their way to after they stop at the Tower of Babel... Exciting arc up ahead there! Some good predictions on what the next arc will be, but another 2 chapters to go before that arc starts so comment so guesses if you want on which group of Main Characters you think Nexus is going to follow next? Thanks again, (quick list below), and 'til next time!

Final Fantasy: Lifestream

Magi: Rukh, Titus, Aladdin, Alibaba, Morgiana

Game of Thrones: Daenerys

Fairy Tail: Juvia, Gray, Natsu, Wendy, Lily, Gajeel, Levy, Romeo

Akame ga Kill: Mine, Tatsumi

Soul Eater: Maka, Soul, Liz

7 Deadly Sins: Meliodas, Ban, Elaine, Gowther, Diane, King, Merlin, Zaratras

Hunter x Hunter: Meruem, Killua

Asura's Wrath: Yasha, Asura, Mithra, Durga

RWBY: Weiss, Glynda Goodwitch

Marvel: Wong

DC: Cassandra Sandsmark

To Aru series: Index, Stiyl, Kanzaki, Dragon's Breath, Touma Kamijou

One Piece: Robin, Nami, Luffy, Zoro

Fairly Oddparents: Timmy

Blue Exorcist: Izumo, Rin

Fullmetal Alchemist, Father, Homunculus

Kingdom Hearts: Sora, Riku, Kairi, Ansem, Axel, Roxas, Naminé, Lea, Saix

Avatar TLA: Sozin

Harry Potter: Snape, Harry